First Basemen of the 1990s Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Natural

Will "The Thrill" Clark was nicknamed "The Natural" because of his smooth-swinging and smooth-fielding natural style of playing baseball. When Clark took batting practice, players would often gather around the batting cage to watch the line drives which came rocketing off his bat. Clark played with the San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles during the 1990s. Clark finished his career with a .305 lifetime batting average, 284 HRs and 1205 RBIs.

Answer: Houston Astros

Jeff Bagwell was drafted by the Boston Red Sox, but this right-handed slugger played his entire Major League career with the Houston Astros. Bagwell belted 449 regular season home runs during his time with the Astros, and he won a Gold Glove Award for fielding excellence in 1994. Bagwell's uniform number five was retired by the Astros in tribute to this first baseman's outstanding play.

Answer: He had the most hits of any Major League player during the 1990s

Mark Grace was a lefty hitting and throwing first baseman who played for the Chicago Cubs from 1988 to 2000. While with the Cubs, Grace won four Gold Glove awards and also banged out more than 1750 base hits during the 1990s, the most of any Major League player for that decade. Grace was not a power home run hitter, but he provided the Cubs with steady hitting prowess. During his career with the Cubs and later the Diamondbacks, Grace collected 2445 base hits including 173 home runs and 511 doubles.

Answer: Cito Gaston

Gaston led the Toronto Blue Jays to back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993. Olerud was a key member of those championship teams. In 1993, Olerud batted an impressive .363 with 24 home runs and 107 runs batted in. Olerud finished the 1990s as a member of the New York Mets. Overall, he had over 2200 base hits including 255 home runs.

In 1989, Johnny Oates was not managing in the big leagues, Jeff Torborg was managing the White Sox, and John Wathan was the skipper for the Royals.

Answer: Andres Galarraga

Andres Galarraga, a power-hitting first sacker from Venezuela, was nicknamed "El Gran Gato", or "Big Cat" during his time in the Major Leagues. Galarraga played for nine different teams in a career which lasted from 1985 to 2004. During the 1990s, the Big Cat played for the Expos, Cardinals, Rockies, and Braves. Galarraga belted 399 home runs and knocked in over 1400 runs for his career.

The other players listed in this question were left-handed batters.

Answer: Hank Greenberg

In 1990, power-hitting righty first baseman Cecil Fielder hit 51 regular season home runs for the Tigers, the first Bengal player since Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg to reach the 50 home run figure. Greenberg had a sensational season in 1938, slamming 58 home runs for Detroit. Fielder played for the Tigers from 1990 to 1996, hitting 245 home runs. Fans in Detroit nicknamed Fielder "Big Daddy" for his physical strength and affable personality. Fielder played in the big leagues from 1985 to 1998.

Answer: New Jersey

Eric Karros hailed from the state of New Jersey, and he had a solid big league career which lasted for 14 seasons. Karros batted and threw right-handed. He spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and ended up with 284 home runs and 1027 runs batted in. Prior to the arrival of Karros, Hall of Fame outfielder Goose Goslin had been the home run leader (248) for players born in New Jersey. Delaware's capital is Dover, Ohio's capital is Columbus, and South Carolina's capital is Columbia.

Answer: Atlanta Braves

Fred McGriff was a left-handed first baseman who played for seven different teams during his big league career. Perhaps McGriff's finest seasons occurred while he was a member of the Atlanta Braves (1993-1997). In 1995, McGriff was a key component in the Braves' title run. During the regular season, McGriff slammed 27 home runs and knocked home 93 runs for the Braves.

He then belted two home runs in Atlanta's 1995 World Series triumph over the Cleveland Indians. McGriff ended his career with 493 regular season round trippers.

Answer: Tino Martinez

Tino Martinez became the toast of New York on October 17, 1998, when he belted a grand slam home run off San Diego Padres' pitcher Mark Langston. The upper deck shot at Yankee Stadium helped the Bronx Bombers to a 9-6 victory in the first game of the 1998 World Series. Martinez was a left-handed hitting first baseman who began his big league career with the Seattle Mariners in 1990. Martinez played with the Yankees from 1996 to 2001 and again in 2005. Overall, Martinez hit 339 regular season home runs and drove in 1271 runs during his big league career.

In 1998, Mo Vaughn was playing with the Red Sox, Wally Joyner was playing for the Padres, and J.T. Snow was playing for the Giants.

Answer: 25

McGwire wore uniform number 25 during his years with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1997-2001. While with the Oakland A's, the power-hitting righty first baseman slammed 363 home runs. McGwire then belted 220 home runs as a member of the Cardinals, including 70 round trippers during the 1998 season. Big number 25 was selected to 12 All-Star teams during his career, and also won a Gold Glove Award with Oakland in 1990.